Groundbreaking results published today in Nature Geoscience reveal that fire emissions in the Amazon and Cerrado biomes are largely driven by the smouldering combustion of woody debris. The research, conducted within the framework of the SENSE4FIRE project, highlights how fuel characteristics, such as dead wood, play a critical role in fire emissions.
By integrating satellite observations and fire models to analyse the intense 2020 fire season, the study shows that woody debris contributes up to 75% of the total burned biomass in these South American regions, resulting in disproportionately high emissions of carbon monoxide and other pollutants. During the 2020 wildfires alone, approximately 372 million tonnes of dry biomass were consumed, generating 40 million tonnes of carbon monoxide.
Read the full story on ESA EO pages.
Forkel, M., Wessollek, C., Huijnen, V. et al. Burning of woody debris dominates fire emissions in the Amazon and Cerrado. Nat. Geosci. (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-024-01637-5
Featured video : Vegetation fire dynamics from space. Credit: ESA/Planetary Visions